It's gotta be FUN!!!!

I spend every day working with kids of all ages. From the 2yr olds in the infant program all the way up through my college age staff some of who are 21yrs old. It does not matter what sport, activity or job they are doing they do the best when they are having fun!

As coaches as well as athletes it is imperative to incorporate fun in to instruction, workouts, and racing. It’s not hard or complicated to do but it’s something that has to be well thought out and implemented. It does take some time or at least some creativity to make a level 4 interval session fun but it can be done.

For Coaches: Think of ways to incorporate fun in to each and every workout. Think outside of the box and use creative ideas to incorporate fundamental skills. You can play just about any sport with your skis on. Just because its ski practice does not mean you can’t play a game of ultimate Frisbee, or Soccer, and in my opinion ads a whole new dimension to the sport when you have the boards strapped on! Don’t forget to mix it up as well, if you want to work on speed and agility why not set up an obstacle course. I also feel strongly about coaches jumping in and giving it a go once and a while with your athletes. It makes it fun for you as a coach and it also gets the kids going!

Here is a couple of great example from GMVS. Consequently they have some of the best young skiers and coaches in the country!

For Athletes: Don’t be scared to mix it up once and awhile. If you’re going for a 2 hr OD take a new route or run off the trail and create your own adventure. Also try to find someone to go with you. Time seems to go much faster when you are able to carry on a conversation. You also have to be in to it. If you’re not stoked to get out the door and go train then don’t do it! It’s not going to be that productive and it’s only going to make it that much harder to get out the door and do it tomorrow. One last thing that works even on the hardest days is to reward your self. If you have been looking at those Girl Scout cookies all week have a couple after you get in your OD session!

Racing is also a great reward you get to see all of your hard work come to fruition!

It’s not all about winning but it’s a lot of fun when you do!

Bill Koch Biathlon Clinic

On Sunday I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the local Bill Koch Ski Club. The local club is run by the Rochester XC Ski Foundation and under the guidance of Bob Witkowski. The ski foundation as well as the BK club is one of the major driving forces in the area to develop not only youth skiers but the sport of Nordic Skiing!!

Working in conjunction with the BK Club was Western New York Biathlon. Together the two clubs were able to introduce parents and athletes to the wonderful sport of biathlon. The WNY Biathlon club has a bunch of air rifles and pellet traps that are perfect for the little ones to use. Marty Maynard the WNY club president went over general rifle safety and range procedure. Together with Steve French, Marty and I were able to let each one of the kids shoot 5 shots in the prone position. It was amazing to see some of the kids lay down as many as 4 targets on there very first try!!!

After everyone was able to get some practice in we split the kids in to two 8 person relay teams for a little racing action! The protocol for the race was that each kid had to run a short loop, come in and shoot 2 shots (5 jumping jacks for each miss) and then tag off to the next person in line until the winner was decided. As many of us know it is one thing to hit the targets during zero but another story after skiing/running a loop and having the pressure of friends, family, and self!!!

The kids were doings so well and having so much fun that about ¾ of the way through the line they decided that they wanted to extend the race so that each person shot twice! The race was down to the wire and added to the excitement of the day.

After the race we presented WNY Biathlon patches to all of the kids and our gracious host Kim Douglas (Wife of local Olympian Duncan Douglas) provided everyone with a great snack. Duncan was not able to make it to the event because had left on his own mission to find snow on Saturday. Even without Duncan around we had an eventful day and hopefully did our part to continue New York Sates presence on the Biathlon scene!

I want to thank Rochester XC ski foundation BK ski League, Western New York Biathlon, Kim Douglas and all of the parents and athletes that made this a successful event!!!

Be sure to check out each one of these wonderful organizations website to see what they are up to this winter!

Rochester XC ski foundation BK ski League

http://www.xcrochester.com/new/GVBKYS/GVBKYS.htm

Western New York Biathlon

http://www.westernnybiathlon.com/

Duncan Douglas

http://www.jackedupoldman.com/